The invention relates to transmitting data in a telecommunications system utilizing an intelligent network, and particularly to transmitting data associated with an intelligent network switching point.
A subscriber in a telecommunications networkxe2x80x94in a wired network or a mobile telephone network, for examplexe2x80x94can be provided with a great number of different services by an intelligent network IN. Such services include a private numbering plan PNP which enables private numbers to be used, and a personal number PN in which the intelligent network reroutes the calls made to the personal number in a manner controlled by the subscriber. An example of such an intelligent network is described in the recommendations of the Q-1200 series of the International Telecommunications Union ITU-T. The invention and its background are described using the CoreINAP terminology of the ETS 300 374-1 standard, but the invention can also be used in intelligent networks implemented by other intelligent network standards.
Intelligent network architecture can be described on four functional planes which are determined in the conceptual model of the intelligent network. FIG. 1 shows an extremely simplified example of the functional planes. The top plane is a service plane SP which describes the requirements of each service S1, S2 and their separate capabilities independently of implementation and network technology. A global general functional plane GFP is located below the service plane, in which general service logic GSL defines the processing of each service by means of flow diagrams. These flow diagrams comprise service-independent building blocks SIBs which can be, for example, call processing requests made to a switching centre, database interrogations or data processing performed by a service control function SCF. These flow diagrams can be converted into service logic programs SLPs which are invoked when an intelligent network service is required in a call. As a result of the invoking of the program a unique service logic instance is created for the call. A distributed functional plane DFP in which the functional entities of the intelligent network and the protocols between them are described is located below the global functional plane. The functional entities include a service control function SCF and a service switching function SSF. Each functional entity can perform a number of specified procedures which are called functional entity actions FEAs and which can be used in different services. The SIBs are implemented by using the FEAs. The lowest plane is a physical plane PP which describes how the functional entities are placed in the actual network elements. The CS-1 architecture does not determine how the functional entities identified by it should be placed in the physical network elements. The placement is highly dependent on the hardware manufacturer. Usually, the element in which the service control function SCF is placed is called a service control point SCP and the element in which the service switching function is placed a service switching point SSP.
A basic call state model BCSM defined in connection with the intelligent network describes the different phases of call control and comprises the points in which the call control can be interrupted in order to activate an intelligent network service. It identifies the detection points in the call and connection process in which the service logic instances of the intelligent network can interact with basic call and connection control capabilities. In intelligent networks, connection arrangements and service control are separated from each other so as to make all intelligent network capabilities independent of the switching arrangements. When a call which involves an intelligent network service is set up in a switching centre, the service switching point SSP is responsible for the connection arrangements. The intelligent network service is provided in such a manner that in connection with an encounter of the detection points associated with the services, the service switching point SSP requests the service control point SCP for instructions. The creation, management and performance of intelligent network services are usually centralized to the SCP. In connection with the intelligent network service, a service logic program SLP whose function determines the instructions which the SCP transmits to the SSP in each phase of the call, is activated in the service control point SCP. The SSP interprets the instructions received and begins the call control functions required by them.
In connection with the intelligent network, also non call associated NCA signaling is defined between the service control point SCP and the service switching point SSP. By these signaling messages the SCP can check whether it has a relationship to the SSP (Activity Test), the SCP can request the SSP to filter calls which meet certain criteria (Activate Service Filtering) and in addition, the SCP can request the SSP to limit the number of requests concerning a certain service (Call Gap).
A problem presented by the arrangement described above is that the intelligent network service cannot be built to take the configuration of the switching point into account since data on the capabilities, i.e. the configuration, of the service switching point SSP cannot fully be transmitted to the service control point SCP, but default values must be used for the capabilities of the switching point when the service is being built. If the values of the switching point capabilities deviate from the assumed ones, the service does not function.
An object of the invention is to solve the above problem related to building a service and provide an arrangement in which an intelligent network service can be built so as to take the configuration of a switching point into account. This object can be achieved by an arrangement characterized in that the switching point is arranged to generate and send a configuration message to the control point for indicating a value of at least one parameter which belongs to the configuration data, and the control point is arranged to receive the configuration message.
The invention further relates to an intelligent network control point which can be utilized in the arrangement of the invention. The intelligent network control point is characterized in that it comprises reception means for receiving a configuration message which indicates the value of at least one parameter which belongs to the configuration data in the switching point.
The invention further relates to an intelligent network switching point which can be utilized in the arrangement of the invention. The intelligent network switching point is characterized in that it comprises message generating means for generating a configuration message which indicates the value of at least one parameter which belongs to the configuration data of the swicthing point, and sending means responsive to the message generating means for sending the configuration message to the control point.
The invention further relates to a method which can be applied to the arrangement of the invention. The method is characterized by transmitting the parameter values of the switching point from the switching point to the intelligent network, maintaining the configuration data of the switching point comprising said parameter values in the intelligent network, and producing each intelligent network service utilizing the configuration data of the switching point in response to the activation of the service in the control point.
The configuration data of the service switching point includes the following data:
data directly associated with the function of intelligent network services, such as the function of the SSP in case of error in an SSP-SCP interface, the values of the waiting time control of the reception of the operations used in the SSP-SCP interface, the address of the SCP which activates the intelligent network service,
the differences in function of the service switching point in different telecommunications networks in different situations, such as in the processing of an A subscriber number,
cooperation of a capability implemented in the service switching point and an intelligent network service, which can vary in different countries and/or different operators,
the selection data of service numbers and emergency numbers defined in the service switching point,
network-specific number information, such as different prefixes,
special prefixes associated with a capability, such as a temporary calling line identification restriction prefix,
other special information associated with a capability, such as functioning in special cases, and
data stored in the switching point for the control point SCP.
The invention is based on detecting the problem and on the idea of complementing the non call associated signaling of the intelligent network architecture so as to enable the transmission of the configuration data of the service switching point to be performed by the non call associated signaling. This enables the data depending on the service switching point SSP and affecting the function of the services in the service control point SCP to be taken into account when the general architecture of service programs is being built. Some of this data can be available to the service programs and some of it only to certain service programs. The invention also allows such SIBs which request the SSP for some specific data. An advantage of the invention is thus that building and providing intelligent network services becomes more diverse in such a manner that the local operation of a telephone network can be taken into account in a better way.
The configuration data of the service switching point can be taken into account in the time guard of service logic programs, for example. The service control point requests each service switching point for the length of the time guard for waiting. In accordance with the received length of the time guard for waiting, the service control point sets the service logic program or a corresponding service logic instance, upon the creation of the instance, information on how soon a time guard reset operation (Reset Timer) must be sent to the service switching point. In this manner, the time guards for waiting of different lengths of the service switching points associated with the service control point can be taken into account and the reset operation can be sent to each switching point at a correct time.
The preferred embodiments of the arrangement, switching point, control point and method of the invention are disclosed in the attached dependent claims 2 to 5, 7 to 9, 11 to 14 and 16 to 18.